Religious exemption from voting.
Dear Victorian Electoral Commission, in wondering can you be exempt from voting on religious grounds if not what advice do you have for me as it is not acceptable in my religion to vote in democratic elections.
Thank you for your email. We have received your request and will process
it accordingly.
Depending on the nature of your enquiry we may contact you, otherwise
please accept this email as acknowledgement of your request.
[1]Victorian Electoral Commission
Level 11, 530 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
[2]vec.vic.gov.au
[3]facebook[4]VEC_SOCIAL-LOGO---twitter[5]instagram
@electionsvic
______________________________________________________________________
The content of this email and any attachments may be private and
confidential, intended only for use of the individual or entity named.
Information in it may not be used or disclosed except for the purpose for
which it has been sent. If you have reason to believe that you are not the
intended recipient of this communication, please contact the sender
immediately. The VEC respects the privacy of individuals. For a copy of
our privacy policy, please go to our website (www.vec.vic.gov.au) or
contact us. Please consider the environment before printing your emails
and attachments. This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email
Security.cloud service.
____________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/
2. http://vec.vic.gov.au/
3. https://www.facebook.com/electionsvic
4. https://twitter.com/electionsvic
5. https://www.instagram.com/electionsvic/
OFFICIAL
Dear Elector,
Thank you for your query in relation to exemption from voting due to
religious reasons.
For your information, an elector may be excused for failing to vote at a
specific election if they provide a sufficient excuse. Current Victorian
legislation (Local Government Act 2020) does not specifically state that
the holding of a religious belief that precludes an entitled elector from
voting is a sufficient excuse. This differs from Federal legislation which
contains a specific compulsory voting exemption based on religious
grounds.
However, it is at the discretion of the Prosecution Officer what is deemed
a sufficient excuse for not voting. If it is the act of actually voting
that is precluded by your religious beliefs, non-voter would be required
to provide evidence of their religious belief and an explanation of why
this belief precludes them from voting at an election. This information
would need to be provided in relation to each election for which they are
entitled to vote and fail to vote.
In relation to State or Council elections or by-elections, if an elector
chooses not to vote and do not provide the Victorian Electoral Commission
(VEC) with a sufficient reason in writing in relation to their failure to
vote, or do not pay the penalty amount, the matter may subsequently
proceed to Court. They may then also be asked by the Court to provide
evidence of their beliefs and/or further information to support your
claim.
We hope this information is of assistance to you.
Kind regards,
[1]Victorian Electoral Commission
Compulsory Voting Enforcement
Level 11, 530 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
T 1300 551 575
[2][email address]
[3]vec.vic.gov.au
[4]facebook[5]VEC_SOCIAL-LOGO---twitter[6]instagram
@electionsvic
The VEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land.
-----Original Message-----
From: Abdullah <[FOI #7460 email]>
Sent: Friday, 11 June 2021 8:29 PM
To: FOI <[Victorian Electoral Commission request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Religious exemption from voting.
Dear Victorian Electoral Commission, in wondering can you be exempt from
voting on religious grounds if not what advice do you have for me as it is
not acceptable in my religion to vote in democratic elections.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[7][FOI #7460 email]
Is [8][Victorian Electoral Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Victorian Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us using
this form:
[9]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICIAL
______________________________________________________________________
The content of this email and any attachments may be private and
confidential, intended only for use of the individual or entity named.
Information in it may not be used or disclosed except for the purpose for
which it has been sent. If you have reason to believe that you are not the
intended recipient of this communication, please contact the sender
immediately. The VEC respects the privacy of individuals. For a copy of
our privacy policy, please go to our website (www.vec.vic.gov.au) or
contact us. Please consider the environment before printing your emails
and attachments. This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email
Security.cloud service.
____________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
1. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://vec.vic.gov.au/
4. https://www.facebook.com/electionsvic
5. https://twitter.com/electionsvic
6. https://www.instagram.com/electionsvic/
7. mailto:[FOI #7460 email]
8. mailto:[Victorian Electoral Commission request email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...